Begin Again
by calminglove
Summary: Clove finally is on her own, she's in college and life is falling into place. She's studying business at the school of her dream school which is hundreds of miles from her controlling family. Now that she has broken away, her life can finally begin. Hunger Games college AU.
1. A Whole New World

Clove had been waiting for this moment for the last four years. Her parents finally pulled out of the dorm's parking lot and left her on her own until Thanksgiving. She could barely contain her excitement as she waved them goodbye, she, of course, tried to act sad on account of how devastated her parents were.

As they finally turned the corner onto the busy street, she felt a smile spread across her face. She was finally free of their insane rules, their early curfew, and their judgment. She turned and went into her dorm, Centennial Hall, built on the centennial of the state joining the union. That made the dorm 71 years old. She was eager to unpack and truly have her life begin. She walked back to her dorm, feeling triumphant that she was finally free to live the life that she felt she was destined to live.

Back in her room, she began to unpack all of the items her and her mother had carefully selected for her dorm room: string lights, a deep purple duvet, lots and pillows to make her lofted bed more comfortable, a corkboard to display all of her favorite memories from the past 18 years of her life, an electric kettle for nightly mug of tea, and many soft blankets to keep the chill away during the harsh Wisconsin winter. She played music from her brand new laptop, a graduation gift from her parents, and sang along passionately as she worked. So passionately that she didn't even hear her roommate and her parents walk in. Clove turned around to grab another command hook when she saw 3 people moving tons of boxes into the quaint room.

"Hi! You must be Annie!" Clove hopped down from her chair which she had been standing on to hang her lights.

The girl smiled brightly at her and walked over, enveloping Clove in a large hug. She was not used to someone being so affectionate and touchy upon meeting, "And you must be Clove! I've been so excited to meet you!" Her voice was melodic. She had brown hair that came down in curls and bright sea-green eyes, she was beautiful. Clove felt so different from her, they had only just met but Annie gave off the same energy as the sung, she was warm, bright, and bubbly. Clove felt plain with her long black hair and grey eyes and her cool demeanor.

"I'm excited to meet you too. I hope you don't mind that I took the bed closer to the air conditioner," when Clove had arrived, she took all the furniture that she had wanted without asking, she did move in first after all.

"Oh yeah, that's totally fine, I wanted to be closer to the bathroom anyway!" Their room was shaped like a shoebox, at the far end there were 2 small windows and on the right side was an air conditioner. There was one perk to living in one of the oldest buildings on campus, there was an en-suite bathroom in all of the rooms. It was nestled right by the door to the hallway. "I have some more stuff to bring up, I'll be right back."

Clove and Annie had been texting a little bit before actually meeting each other today at the dorms, they had agreed on who would bring what things. Like Annie would be in charge of bringing the futon and Clove was in charge of bringing the TV. Annie had been disappointed that they couldn't go pick out their dorm decor together because Clove lived so far away. She was from Iowa, and Annie was from a suburb that was about 20 minutes from their college. A small private college called Williams which was nestled into the city of Milwaukee, Clove was excited to be living in a much bigger city than where she grew up.

Clove did her best to stay out of the way while Annie and her parents brought all of her stuff in the room, and tried to give them some privacy when they were saying goodbye by putting in her headphones. After the door shut and Annie's parents left, Clove could hear that Annie was talking to her despite the fact that she had her headphones in.

"What was that?" Clove asked, sliding her headphones down around her neck.

"Oh, I was just saying that I totally can't believe that this is happening. We're at college! This is all so exciting and overwhelming," Annie was lit up with excitement.

Clove couldn't help but reciprocate the feeling, "I know, I feel like I have been waiting for this moment forever. We're finally free of everything." Clove stated with a smile.

"I know what you mean, this summer felt like forever, I was just trying to get here. To get to this moment," Annie sighed, "And now it's finally here!"

* * *

They spent the next few hours setting up their room and getting to know each other, Clove was right about Annie, she was the most positive and sweet person that she had ever met. They quickly bonded over simple things, like their absolute secret love of Taylor Swift, and the fact that they both loved to go on long runs, and they were both loved cats. Slowly, their room began to come together. Clove covered the wall behind their futon with dazzling string lights, and moved her desk and dresser underneath her lofted bed, creating tons of open space in the room, Annie had done the same except she had nicely let them use her dresser as a TV stand. Clove hung more lights around her bed and clipped clothespins to it, attaching photos to the pins. She organized her desk, arranging her nick-knacks and man pens, as well as a lava lamp and study lamp to light up the dark area underneath her bed. She then took upon a very difficult task, making your bed while it is lofted. It took her almost twenty minutes to get everything on there and straight, but it was worth adding the foam pad and the mattress topper to make the plastic-covered mattress actually comfortable.

Finally, Clove collapsed into the futon, tired from the long day. The morning and afternoon had come and gone, and she had been up since 3 am due to the long drive she had to school. Annie flopped down next to her, it was coming up on 5 pm, they would have their first welcome week event at 6:30, the whole 7th floor of Centennial was going to go to the dining hall together, their RA leading the way.

Annie turned to Clove and said, "You know, I heard that opening up your door is a really great way to make new friends when you get to college, I think we should see if it works."

Clove nodded, "Yeah, I guess we could give it a try," she said hesitantly, Clove didn't open up easily to strangers, and she sure as hell didn't want random people coming into her room.

Annie opened the door and Clove busied herself by connecting to her speaker and putting some soothing music on and started humming softly to it, scrolling through her phone, her mom had already texted a few times asking how unpacking was going and if she liked her roommate or not, her mother had been quite upset that she had not gotten to meet Annie Cresta herself.

Annie interrupted her thoughts, "What is this music? I'm really digging the vibe." she smiled at Clove, obviously she wanted to be good friends. She was so sweet and kind which was so different from Clove, but she couldn't help but find comfort in the girl.

"Oh this is The Head and The Heart, they are this indie-folk band that I am really into," Clove smiled softly at her, she loved music more than almost anything but she was always wary to share what she liked with other people.

"Oh, cool! I am into all kinds of music, as long as it has a good vibe I am totally here for it." Annie noted. Suddenly they could hear loud booming male voices walking down the hall, Annie perked up instantly, "Hey, we should go see who that is!" They could hear the boys getting closer to their room, Annie hopped up out of the futon and walked over towards the door. Yelling hi at them as they came by causing them to stop in their tracks and look into their room.

"Well, hi there," said one of the boys. There were three of them, all tall and attractive. Clove has essentially no experience talking to boys because her parents didn't let her date in high school so she never really saw the point. "I'm Finnick, and yes I know, it is so nice to meet me," he said confidently and with a smile.

Annie couldn't help but giggle at his comment, although Clove didn't find it as amusing as Annie did. "Well, I'm Annie," she turned to point to Clove and give her a look like 'hey come over here and meet these people', "and this is my roomie, Clove." She gave a small wave and smile to the boys, feeling rather overwhelmed, she was never great in social situations.

"Can we come in and check out your guys' room?" A tall brunette boy asked.

Annie beamed at them and moved from the doorway, "Yeah, of course! Come on in and see. We've been working on making it nice all day."

The three boys filed into the room, looking at all the decor and work that had gone into the room this afternoon. The only one who had not talked sat down next to Clove. He was really handsome, tall, broad shoulders, striking blue eyes, blonde hair cut neatly.

He turned to Clove, "Your room is really nice," he held a hand out to her to shake, she took it and gave it a firm squeeze, "I'm Cato."

"Clove," she stated, "And thank you, I tried my best to make it look as inviting as possible. I'm all about comfort."

Cato nodded, "Yeah, I wish I would have put more thought about went into my room. We moved in a few weeks ago for football camp and my room has basically nothing in it. This is making me want to get some more homey touches in my room. My roommate has some, but my shit is plain."

The boy whose name I didn't know yet dragged my desk chair over and faced me and Cato on the couch, "Yeah, honestly Cato's room is super fuckin lame. Me and Finnick's room is pretty cool though. We have a 'Saturdays are for the boys' flag above our futon and a sweet beanbag chair. You guys should get another chair or something in here, it would make the room."

Clove didn't understand how that flag is something to brag about, but she smiled and nodded, "Yeah that's something to consider if I ever go to Target I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the idea, err, sorry what's your name?" Clove asked.

He flashed a smile of bright white teeth at Clove, "Marvel, it's nice to meet you guys. Cato, Fin, and I have been here for over two weeks cause we're all on the football team and it's been super boring at night. I'm so glad more cool people are moving in." Marvel was talking like the 5 of them were already the best of friends.

Annie sat down on the other side of Clove, she had been showing Finnick her shell collection on her desk. "Yeah, I'm sure it's exciting seeing the campus come to life again." Annie smiled at him.

Everyone continued to talk and get to know each other for the next hour or so. Clove was actually having a good time, she wasn't talking as much as everyone else, but she was taking everything one step at a time. She was grateful to have Annie as a roommate, she was so outgoing and was the one who got her to meet these guys who were actually really cool. Clove had heard lots of stereotypes of football players but none of them were filling them.

Before they had even realized it, it was 6:30 and their RA Brutus was knocking on the door, telling them it was time to gather as a floor and head to the dining hall for dinner. All the guys had been living on campus for a while now so they already knew how the dining hall worked and was honestly kind of dreading the floor dinner.

As they walked to the dining hall their little group of five hung back from the mass a little bit, talking amongst themselves as their RA guided the helpless freshmen like cattle and answered a bunch of questions about the dining hall, but the three boys already agreed to show Clove and Annie where the best food was and the best place to sit.

Clove followed Finnick and Marvel to the grill to get a chicken sandwich and Cato and Annie went off to the build your own mac n cheese. Once they made it through the food line, they all got drinks and sat down. Clove got two big glasses of coke, she needed the energy after the long day that had started so early for her. Cato and Annie lagged behind as their food line had been longer.

Marvel started asking Clove lots of questions, she wasn't used to talking so much, especially about herself. "So, Clove, where are you from again?"

"I'm from a small city in Iowa called Grinnell." she explained as Cato sat down next to her, "You've probably never heard of it. It's a big farm city."

Marvel beamed at her, "I'm from a farm city too! I'm from Grantsburg here in-state. I actually grew up on a corn farm!"

Cato laughed as he adjusted in his seat, "Yeah, Marvel's our resident redneck. A country boy at heart, we still love him though."

Marvel faked being hurt, "Hey! I'm not the only hick anymore, little Clove here is also from a farm town."

Cato grinned at her amused, "Ahh, never would have pegged you for a country girl. Do you have any cowboy boots?"

She smacked his arm lightly, "Fuck off! I am not a country girl. Unlike Marvel, I did not grow up on a farm." she looked at Marvel sympathetically, "Not that there's anything wrong with growing up on a farm, I knew tons of people who did."

Marvel pointed at Cato with his fork, "See Cato, there's nothing wrong with growing up out in the sticks, we have a little more character than you is all."

Finnick joined in on the conversation, "Is Cato making fun of Marvel for being a hick again? Dude, I told you, it's only funny every once in a while!"

Marvel nodded, "It's all about moderation dude, say it all the time and you're not going to get a laugh anymore. He's making fun of Clove now too!"

Finnick laughed and shook his head, "Don't worry Clove, he's just a city boy. He doesn't understand."

Clove turned to Cato and raised her eyebrows, "A big city boy, where are you from?" she asked before digging into her food, which was surprisingly good for college cafeteria food.

He finished chewing and answered, "I'm from Minneapolis."

"Oh, cool! I've been there many times. I'm from northern Iowa."

Cato nodded at her, "Corn country. If you're from Iowa, I'm surprised you're not at Iowa State, roll clones and all of that."

"I came here to get away from all of that," Clove explained. "I wanted to get out of Iowa."

Cato nods, "I get that, hopefully, you'll find what you're looking for here." He smiled warmly at her and continued on with his meal, jumping in on a conversation between Finnick and Annie.

* * *

After dinner was done, CLove and Annie decided that it was only fair if they got to check out the boy's dorms as well. They begrudgingly agreed as they wanted to hang out in the girl's dorm as it was more comfortable.

They walked down the hall of the 7th floor and came upon Finnick and Marvel's dorm, it was kiddie corner from Clove and Annie's. Stepping inside Clove could tell why they wanted to hang out in their room. The room smelled of sweat and food, she didn't understand how boys could get a room so smelly so fast.

Marvel threw an arm around both of the girls and grinned, "So what do you guys think?" He was obviously more proud of the room than Finnick.

Annie tried to be encouraging, "It's nice you guys, it could use some better lighting, but it's still nice in here."

"Knew you'd like it, Annie." Marvel ruffled her hair and let the both of us go.

"It's not as nice as your room," Finnick admitted, "But we're doing the best that we can. Plus, it's not as bad as Cato's room. We at least have pictures and stuff in here, and our sick flag!" he fist-bumped Marvel.

"Okay, I really think that we need to see Cato's room. It really can't be that bad." Clove said encouragingly to Cato.

They walked across the hall into Cato's room and Clove noted that he lived right next to her and Annie, with the bed she chose she shared a wall with Cato.

"Here we are!" Announced Cato as he flipped the lights on, illuminating the practically empty dorm. They didn't even have a futon. On Cato's side of the room he had plain navy sheets, a dark grey duvet, and a singular pillow in his bed. His desk was empty except for his textbooks and notebooks for the semester. He had no photos on the wall and relied solely on the fluorescent overhead lighting provided by the university. His roommate's side of the room at least had some things, pictures of his girlfriend and family and beautifully done paintings.

"Cato, your side of the room is so sad!" Clove couldn't keep it in. "I mean your roommate has some stuff but not much, you guys don't even have a futon!" She laughed.

Even Annie didn't have anything nice to say about Cato's room, "Cato, you don't have any personal touches, where are your favorite things and your knick-knacks?" she asked sadly.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I never really had anything like that at home, this is how my room looked there too. I didn't realize it was weird until I came here. Peeta's stuff makes it seem a little bit better though."

Marvel cut it, "Yeah, and he's been spending the majority of his time in our room anyway, why should he fix his room up?"

"To make himself feel more comfortable and at home," Clove added, "It's hard moving to a new place with new people, you should have a place that really makes it feel your own."

Cato nodded, "Yeah, that sounds nice and all, but I don't know how to make this space my own."

Clove had a great idea popped into her head, "Well, I could maybe help you. I think Marvel was right, we do need a chair in our room. So if we went to the store together I could get a chair, and you could pick out some more stuff for your room! There's a bus that could take us to target in the morning."

Cato grinned, thrilled by her idea, "Or we could go right now, I have a car on campus." he checked his phone quickly, "It's only 8 o'clock. We could go and still have plenty of time to shop."

Clove nodded excitedly, "Let's do it!" she looked around at everyone else, "Are you guys going to come with us?" she asked hopefully.

Marvel and Finnick looked at each other, "Well, we actually were gonna hang out in our room and drink some beer and play some games." they stated with regret.

Annie looked at Finnick, "I think I'm gonna hang with these guys, sorry Clove. Pick something cute for our room, okay?"

"It's fine, you guys have fun." Clove waved them off.

Cato grabbed his keys off of his desk, "Alright, everyone out of my room. Clove and I are gonna go to target."


	2. No Time Like the Present

Everyone filed out of Cato's room and went across the hall to Finnick and Marvel's room. We waved our goodbyes and walked towards the elevator.

"So," Clove started, "Do they play games every night? What have you guys been doing since getting to school?"

"Well," Cato replied, "Yeah, most nights we have sat in their room and played madden on Finnick's Xbox and drank a couple of beers. Some nights I go to bed early though, we have been having 3 a day practice and they have been killing me."

Clove found it odd how they talked so openly about drinking, she had never drank any alcohol in her entire life. "Yeah, I'm sure that will tire you out," they stepped onto the elevator and Clove pressed the ground floor level, "and I'm sure doing the same thing every night gets pretty boring pretty fast."

Cato nodded, "You can only do that so many nights in a row and listen to Finnick and Marvel's stories. I love those guys and I am so glad to have met them, but hanging out all the time every day is a bit much for me. I'm really excited that the semester is starting and that things are going to start changing a little bit," The elevator doors open and they stepped outside, " Like, I would have never anticipated going to Target with a girl I just met today, but look where we are, and honestly, it's pretty awesome."

Clove couldn't help but smile at the comment, she was actually doing okay at this whole being social thing, "Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Just this morning I was up at 3 in the morning driving here, listening to my parent's drone on about how I should be in bed before 11 and that I should start studying before classes even start. Now I can do what I want." She truly felt triumphant. They walked out into the parking lot, it was only the beginning of September but the night air already had a cold bite to it.

"Yeah, I have overbearing parents as well. It was always a focus on sports all the time. Football and getting a scholarship were the only things that mattered." Cato fiddled with his keys and Clove heard the unlocking of a big pick-up truck about 15 feet away from them.

Clove put a hand on his arm, she herself was surprised that she was being so touchy, "Well, we're both here now. We're away from our parents, and as you said, hopefully, we'll find what we are looking for."

Cato looked down at her and smiled, "You are so right Clove. Thanks." He walked over and opened the door to the truck.

Clove climbed into the passenger seat, "Also, we can't not talk about how you have a pick-up truck. You called Marvel a hick and you drive this thing around? This is every country boys dream!" She laughed.

He couldn't help but laugh either, "I know, you can't tell Marvel, okay? He'll steal this thing from me." He started the car and turned to look out the back window, pulling out of the parking space, "He'll also never stop giving me shit about it."

Clove laughed, "Okay, I won't tell him, but he's gonna find out sometime. The longer you keep it from him, the more he's going to laugh at you."

"I know," Cato grumbled and turned onto the main road, "Do you want to put on some music?" He passed her an aux cord.

She grinned, she was into a lot of weird music, so she decided to ease him into it. "I would love to play some music." She put on 'Jackie and Wilson' by Hozier and immediately started singing along, and to her surprise, Cato did too.

He let out a whoop, "Oh, I love this song!" He put down the windows and the cold air felt good as it rushed into the truck, Clove loved the feeling of her hair whipping around her and loud music ringing in her ears.

* * *

They pulled up at the Target in about 10 minutes, they were both disappointed that the ride had been so short as they had been singing their hearts out the entire way. Clove continued to play some of Hozier's biggest bangers the whole ride there, Cato was obviously a fan.

"I didn't peg you for a Hozier fan," Clove said getting down out of the truck.

Cato gave her a confused look and locked the truck and began to walk towards the store, "Why's that? The man is a god."

"I don't know," she shrugged and walked beside him, "I thought most guys our age were really into rap and Post Malone."

"No, not me. I mean, I'll listen to it at a party or whatever, but in Minneapolis, there is a huge indie music scene, so that's what I listen to most of the time." Cato explained.

"That's what I'm into, not that there was any Indie music scene in Grinnell." They walked into the Target that would usually be buzzing, but now at 8:20, it had finally slowed down. "So, what are you thinking you want to get while we are here?"

He shrugged, "What do you think my room needs?"

She laughed, "Um, you need everything! For god's sake Cato you only have one pillow on your bed!"

He looked at her surprised and grabbed a cart and pushed it to her, then grabbing one for himself, "Are you supposed to have more than one pillow?"

"Yeah," she said as if it were the most obvious fact in the entire world, "If you want to be comfortable in your bed."

"Okay, so I need another pillow. What else?" He asked, walking towards the home good section.

"Well, you'll probably want a lamp. The lighting in the dorms is atrocious. You might want to get a couple of nice blankets, I hear the dorms get really cold. I have my pictures all around the room. Do you have a mattress topper? It's what makes my bed so cozy."

"I don't have one of those, and I think that the beds here are terrible. So, I'll definitely be getting myself one of those. I also want to get a chair, the only ones in our room are the desk ones and they are terrible. I want something to hang on my wall too, but not a flag like Fin and Marvel."

Clove nodded along to what he was saying, "Yeah, I think we can handle all of that, we might be able to find a little more if you want. It all depends on what we can find." She pulled over by the sheets and blankets, "So, you have navy blue sheets, and a grey duvet, so we should pick some stuff that matches that. What do you think?" She left her cart and wondered into the soft blankets, "You seriously won't regret getting a nice blanket."

He looked them up and down the aisle, feeling them with his fingertips, finally landing on one, "What about this one?" He asked it was a white and grey striped blanket.

"Yeah, I think that would be nice," she took it from his hands and put it back on the shelf, "Don't get the twin sized one though, get full, it's way cozier."

He looked at her strangely, he always thought you bought for the size of the bed but decided to trust her on this one, "Alright, sounds good. It is soft as hell, it's going to be really nice when it's winter." He threw the full-size blanket into his cart and kept walking, turning into the next aisle.

"I brought like 5 blankets, I'm not going to lie." Clove followed behind him, bringing her cart with her.

"There are so many kinds of pillows," Cato noted looking down the aisle, "How do you pick one?"

Clove laughed, he was like a deer in the headlights. It was obvious that he had never gone shopping for himself before, "Well, you just go around and feel which one might be for you," She moved ahead of him, "Come on, you can't decide by just looking at them."

He followed her, testing the pillows between his hand, "I think I want a firm pillow rather than really soft. It can't be too soft either." He said throwing a pillow back in its place.

"Here," she tossed a pillow at him, "Try this one for size." he felt it, it was in the middle of the road, not super soft, but too firm that you couldn't adjust it to your liking.

"I think I like this one," he said pressing on it again, "It's right in the middle."

"Yeah, I know." she smiled, "That's the pillow that I use in my bed, it's a little more expensive but it is totally worth it in the end."

Cato put the pillow in his cart and after some consideration put a second one in with it as well, "Well, it's not my money and I hate my current pillow, so I might as well get a second."

Clove felt good, he was taking all of her suggestions to heart, "Yeah, you might as well."

"Where did you get those big pillows that were in your bed?" He asked.

"Oh, I got those here too, I did that because I like watching movies and TV in bed and I can prop myself up easier. Do you want some?"

"Yeah, I want my bed to be comfortable, I've been sleeping like shit and I'm sore from practice, the more comfortable the better," Cato noted.

Clove walked farther down the aisle, "Let's get the mattress topper first, it's at the end of the aisle." she grabbed the extra-long twin size and tossed it into his cart, "That will make your bed a million times more comfortable."

He nodded and they went to the college dorm section of the store that had been picked over the last few days as students were moving into dorms all across the city, "It looks like a bomb went off here," he walked towards the lamps, "People are animals."

Clove looked around at the stuff scattered, "Yeah, I can't even imagine what this target was like this afternoon during move in." Clove picked up a big square navy blue pillow, "What do you think about this? It would match your bedding well." They were the same ones that Clove had in her bed but hers were a light lavender color.

"Yeah, those look nice, put 'em on in." he gestured to the cart. He walked over and looked at the desk lamps and grabbed one with an organizer and extra outlet on the bottom adding it to his cart as well. "What is a tapestry?" he asked, grabbing one off of the wall and examining it.

"Oh, those are something that you hang on the wall. It's like Finnick and Marvel's flag, but not stupid." They both laughed thinking about how cheesy and cliche their room decor was, "Do you see one that you like?"

"Yeah, actually I do," he put back the previous one and grabbed one with the map of the world on it, "Do you think this one would be cool?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I do. I like that it's monochrome with all the greys and black. I think it would add a nice touch to your room."

They continued through the aisles grabbing a few more things. They grabbed a nice floor lamp for Cato's room and they both but the same cushioned butterfly chair for their respective rooms. They grabbed string lights for Cato's room and some command hooks to hang things on the wall. After about 45 minutes of shopping they had finally gotten all that Cato would need to make his room feel a little more like home.

"Anything else we need before we go?" he clicked on his phone, it was 9:15. She shook her head no. "Well, I think we should get some snacks, we deserve them after this long hard shopping trip."

"Do we?" Clove asked, her parents had been strict on her eating healthy food while she was growing up so they never had much snack food growing up, "I'm not much of a snacker." She stated matter of fact.

"Not much of a snacker? What the hell?" he looked amused, "Everyone I have ever met loves to snack."

"Well, my parents didn't really let junk food in the house. they said it wasn't brain food and that it would make me sluggish." She shrugged.

"Clove, I am going to give you a snack education. You need to learn. You are showing me how to decorate my room, I am going to show you how to gorge yourself on terrible foods."

Clove laughed at his seriousness, "Alrighty then, let's go." she gestured for him to lead the way.

They walked across the store, making small talk as they went. They made it to the snack food aisle and Clove could tell that Cato was in his element.

"Okay," he began to explain, "Obviously we have to hit both sweet and salty. I'm thinking," he began to grab things off of the shelf and throw them in his cart, "Mint oreos," he walked further down the aisle, "Oh yeah, doritos. Extreme flavor blasted goldfish are a must. Oooh! Barbecue chips. Oh, and some of these." he added some chips ahoy to the cart. "Alright, I think I got it all. We can always continue with your snack education at a later time."

"Wow," Clove added, "I have never seen someone attack the snack aisle like that. You must really know your stuff." She laughed and they both walked towards the checkout lanes.

"I told you, I'm an expert, and you will be my protege." he grinned at her, "Just like you will be my guide on this interior design journey." Cato began placing all of his items on the conveyor belt.

"Yeah, and you're going to owe me after I do all of this physical labor for you." she pointed out.

"Well, yeah," he scoffed, "I'm gonna pay you for your time with snacks."

She smiled, "Yeah, and you're gonna let me play the music while we put stuff up in your room!"

"Seems like a fair deal, as long as you keep playing bangers like before, I will have no obligation to that." he nodded. The cashier began talking to Cato and he paid for the many things he had grabbed.

Cato moved out of the way and suddenly it was her turn, but the only thing that she had was the butterfly chair that when they tested it out was surprisingly comfortable. They made their way out of the store when all was said and done.

Once they got all of their items stored safely in the back of Cato's truck they settled into the cab. "Well, that was a fun target run." Clove noted, and she wasn't kidding. She had never laughed or joked so much when on a trip to the store. Cato brought an energy that was never present in her family.

He smiled at her and started up the truck, "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Clove read the clock on the dashboard, it was 9:45, they had been in the store for a long time. Cato plugged his phone into the aux cord and began blasting a playlist, "I'm gonna expose you to some of my music now." He turned his head and looked to begin backing out of his parking space.

The song had a fun folk feel, but it was upbeat and loud, like any good car banger should be. She couldn't help but nod along to the mesmerizing chords of the guitar, "What is this song? It slaps." she asked.

He looked at her for a quick second, his eyes bright, "This is My Cousin Greg by Houndmouth." The chorus came along again and he belted the lyrics. Clove couldn't help but laugh, he was a terrible singer, "What?" he asked as the song went to an instrumental part.

"Nothing," she chuckled to herself, "It's just you are a terrible singer!"

He raised his eyebrows, "Oh, yeah" and he sang even louder as the song came back to its last refrain. This made Clove burst out into a huge smile, she felt the wind against her cheeks and let herself bask in the happiness of the moment. How could it have only been this morning when her parents dropped her off at college?

* * *

After a lot of struggling Clove and Cato finally got everything up into their dorms. They had spent at least 15 minutes in search of one of those move-in carts that this morning were seemingly everywhere, but tonight they were nowhere in sight, they found one in the basement of Centennial thanks to a tip from the desk attendant. They dropped off Clove's chair in her room, it was empty at the time, Annie still must have been at Finnick and Marvel's.

In Cato's room Clove began organizing all the items they had got and putting them in piles on the floor. She was surprised that she hadn't seen his roommate yet since it was 10:30, "Cato, where's your roommate?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, Peeta is at his girlfriend's. She lives on the floor below us in one of the single dorms. He's on the football team too. All he's been talking about the past few days is about how he can't wait for her to move-in. They are apparently very in love." Cato opened his minifridge and grabbed out a coke, "You want one, Clover?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'd love one. I've been up since three this morning because I had to drive here and my move in was at nine." Cato tossed her a coke and she caught it with ease, she instantly cracked it open, "Also, I don't do nicknames. Clover is a no-go from me."

"Well, this is a free country and I can call you whatever I want," he took a long sip from his can, a smirk across his face, "But you have had a long day, we can do this in the morning if you want." he suggested but she shrugged him off.

"No, it's okay. We have welcome week stuff in the morning and afternoon and I'm honestly having a really good time," she confessed.

Clove saying that made Cato feel good deep inside, he wasn't a people pleaser or anything, but he liked making her happy. "Well, let's get started then!"

Clove connected to a speaker that Cato had in his room and she began to play her favorite playlist, one she had been working on for awhile, she had specifically made it for the fall semester. It had lots of indie music on it, some Cato knew and sang along to, and some he didn't but he didn't mind listening to her softly sing along. The two fell into an easy rhythm. Cato set up small things by the advice of Clove. He plugged in his lava lamp and his desk lamp, organizing his desk to make it look neat and organized while Clove stood on his desk chair placing command hooks on the wall and then hanging his string of lights on it. His were a bit different than her twinkle lights, his had small einstein light bulbs on them. They gave off a nice soft glow. Once Cato finished with the desk area, he built his floor lamp and once she was finished with the lights she helped Cato hang up the tapestry in a good place. They put his new chair underneath and things were actually starting to look a little better in Cato's previously dim dorm room.

"What's left?" he asked her, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"The bed." she groaned, "It took me forever to do it earlier, but I think I can do it quicker this time."

"I can help if you need it." he said, but again she shrugged him off.

"No, it's okay. I told you that I would be your guide and that I would make your dorm room homey and cozy. So it is what I shall do!" She said with such gusto, he could tell that she did actually want to make this nice for him and cared about their little project.

"Alright," he shrugged, "Let me know if you need anything." He plopped down onto the chair under his lights and tapestry. "Can I look through your playlist?" he asked, gesturing to her phone on the ground.

She tossed the foam mattress pad up onto the lofted bed, "Yeah," her phone didn't have a passcode on it, her parents didn't allow her to have one so they could look through her phone at anytime. "But you have to grab me another coke." she said with a yawn, it had to be around 11:15 at this point, and she was exhausted.

"I can do that," Cato went over to the fridge and handed her what she wanted, he felt bad that she was so tired. He sat down and scrolled through her playlist, they had very similar music taste. He hadn't heard of all of the artists on her playlist. There were lots of artists he also saw missing, he was excited to share new music with her.

Clove busied herself by setting up his bed, she was moving more quickly this time as she had gotten the gist of it this morning. After the foam pad, she added a mattress topper. Then came the fitted sheet and top sheet. Next she laid down his comforter and then she folded his big soft blanket so that it would lay across half of the bed, within arms reach if he needed it. She propped up the two largest pillows at the end, and then pulled pillow cases onto his two new pillows, sending his old pillow to the floor. She was pleased with it, it was just as comfortable as the bed in her room, she knew that he would feel more at home with a bed like this.

She climbed down from the bed and saw him engrossed as he looked through her spotify. "Alright." she exclaimed, "It's all done! Your room is officially nicer than Marvel and Finnick's." she smiled as he looked up at her from the phone, "The only thing they have on you now is that they have a futon and TV."

"I don't give a shit about that, if I want to use a TV I can just go over there whenever." He stood up and looked at the bed, it looked very nice. She put a lot of care into it. The room as a whole looked a lot better. He no longer had to use the gross fluorescent lighting that the university provided, he had multiple lamps and his string lights which all gave off a very nice glow. His walls had something on them. His bed had more than just a pillow and a comforter, it was way more cushioned underneath. At the beginning of the day he never expected his room to take such a turn by the end of the night, but now his room was a place that he would actually spend time. "Thanks for helping me do this by the way, it looks amazing. I definitely could not have done it without you."

She smiled, happy that he liked it. She knew that he would, it was a big improvement over how the room was earlier in the day, "You're welcome. I'm happy I could help." she grabbed her phone out of his hand, "I do remember someone saying that I was going to be paid in snacks though and I am starving!"

He laughed, remembering all the junk food he had bought for them earlier in the day. "Don't worry, I'm going to pay you. I should do it before everyone else sees all the food I've got too, it will be gone in a second." He gathered some stuff up in his arms and gestured to the bed with his head, "Come on, we're doing a taste test."

Clove wasn't sure how she felt about being in his bed with him, but he didn't have a futon. Also there was no one there to stop her, there were no rules about that kind of thing here. She needed to get her parents voices out of her head. She climbed up into the extremely high bed, settling into the pillows. Cato placed all of the items in his bed with ease, he was tall and could easily reach the bed from the ground, unlike Clove. He climbed into the bed with two cans in his hand, they were beer, PBR to be exact.

He got settled into the pillows next to her, they were slightly pressed together due to the small nature of the bed. He handed a can to her, she had never drank beer in her entire life. She knew that her parents would come here and take her from school if they found out that she was drinking beer with a boy in his bed. "Is Pabst Blue Ribbon any good?" she asked and he cracked open his can.

He took a long sip before answering, "Yeah, it's my favorite. I think it's better than Coors or natty light. Why, what do you usually drink?"

"Um, I've actually never drank before." she confessed, looking down at the beer, she decided to crack it open.

"Well, you don't have to drink it if you don't want to." he noted, "Sorry, I should have asked if you wanted one."

"Well," she said, "No time like the present," and took a big sip from the can. To her surprise, it tasted actually really good unlike what her dad said.

"So?" Cato asked, "What's the verdict?"

She nodded, taking another sip, "It's actually really good. It tastes kind of like bread, but in the absolute best way." The two smiled at each other, Clove was happy that she was being exposed to so many new things already.

"That's what we love to hear!" Cato grabbed a package of oreos from where he left them at the end of the bed, he opened it up and gave her two, "These are my favorite, the original oreos are good, but the mint oreos just might be the best thing to ever be invented."

Clove took a bite, she seriously was starving, all she had that day was the dinner from the dining hall, "Oh my god, these are so good. Mint and chocolate is one of my favorite combinations of all time." she said, her mouth still slightly full. She couldn't help it, she was in ecstasy.

Cato smiled at her, this girl really did not care about impressing him. She was so genuine and he really liked that about her. They continued sampling all of the junk food, Clove loved the oreos, the flavor blasted goldfish, and the barbecue chips. She only liked the doritos, which Cato thought was insane. They decided to save the chips ahoy for another time because they had both already gorged themselves on so much junk food, and by the time they were done they had both had two beers.

At about midnight, they both felt a buzz on their phone. It was a group chat and Clove only had one of the numbers saved, it was Annie. "Who is this?" Clove asked Cato, she was puzzled. She was also starting to feel buzzed as it was her first time drinking and she was so small it wouldn't take much to get her drunk.

"It's Finnick, Marvel, and Annie," Cato explained, the text read 'are you two done yet? come hang out with us!', "It was Finnick who sent the text. Should we go see what's up with them?"

Clove shrugged, "Yeah, why not?" she began to climb down the bed, once she was standing on the ground she felt like her legs were buzzing. Her head was still clear but the alcohol was still slightly affecting her.

Cato followed her out of the bed, Clove felt a shiver as they climbed out of the warm confined space, "Can we stop by my room first? I want to put on a sweatshirt."

Cato nodded, "Yeah of course," he grabbed another beer from the fridge, "Want another one for the road?" he raised his eyebrows.

She nodded, "Yeah, why not."

He smiled and repeated her earlier phrase, "No time like the present!" He set the two beers down on the fridge and walked over to his own closet grabbing out a hoodie, he slipped it on and stuffed the two beers in his pocket.

They popped next door into Clove's room. She grabbed a sweatshirt and they were on their way. In the hallway they were met by some other freshmen girls living on the floor, they talked for a few seconds before Clove and Cato ducked into Finnick and Marvel's room. Clove could hear the girls giggles as they walked away, they were talking about how cute Cato is. She couldn't blame them.

When they entered the room they were met with cheers, the others had obviously been drinking for quite sometime before they got there.

"Oh my god, guys! You are just in time," Finnick grinned.

"Just in time for what?" Cato cracked open one of the beers from his pocket and handed it to Clove.

"We're gonna play truth or dare!" Finnick exclaimed.


	3. Chapter 3

Clove took a tentative sip of the beer, she did not want to play truth or dare. She was pretty inexperienced in all things. Before tonight, she had never drunk alcohol. In high school, she has never had a boyfriend, never kissed a boy even. She didn't want to admit that she didn't really have a life in the past, so that really only left her with a dare, which she wasn't exactly too pleased about either.

Cato seemed excited though, he had played this game many times in high school and had many mean ideas to use for dares. He cracked open the second beer from his pocket and took a long sip, a smile across his face, "Well, let's get this started then!"

They all began to sit in a circle, Annie and Finnick sat on the ground, pretty much on top of each other. Clove settled into the futon, between Cato and Marvel. Cato could feel her fidgeting, he couldn't help thinking to himself, 'why in the world is she so nervous, it's just truth or dare'.

Marvel sat forward and began talking to everyone, "Okay, so how are we deciding who goes first? Spinning a bottle?" he rubbed his hands together, he was way too excited for this. It was his idea to play the game.

Cato shook his head at Marvel's enthusiasm, "No dude, it doesn't have to be that serious. Marvel, truth or dare?" He asked, showing him how easy it is to just start the game.

Marvel instantly knew his answer, "Dare!" He was way too happy to say that, he had no idea who he was dealing with.

Cato's eyes lit up, he had gotten the exact answer that he wanted. "Alright, Marvel, I dare you to… strip down to your underwear, put on high heels and lipstick, and give us all a strip show." Cato grinned, and everyone else burst out laughing.

Marvel was already red in the face, "Dude! Come on, we don't even have any heels." he was giving Cato a look, basically begging for mercy.

Annie shot up onto her feet, "Well, I can fix that! I'll go grab some from Clove and I's room." she walked out of the room giggling.

Finnick was grinning from ear to ear, "Marvel, calm down! It's all for fun." he clapped his hands together, "Okay, so what song are we gonna play for him to dance to?"

Cato laughed, he hadn't even thought of that, "Well, we could always go with a classic, like Pony or Fergalicious."

Finnick nodded enthusiastically, "Or SexyBack!"

"Duuuude!" Cato laughed, as Marvel sat on looking miserable at his two friends. He was cursing at himself, it was his idea to play the dumb game.

"I am not dancing to SexyBack!" Marvel crooned out.

Clove smiled, "Yes, you are! Trust me, the more you are into it, the less embarrassing it is going to be for you." She placed a hand on his hard and Marvel felt a little bit better. Marvel felt a surge in his chest, he was still extremely embarrassed but he was also willing to make a fool of himself.

Annie burst back into the room with a pair of black heels that looked like they would be entirely too small for Marvel. She threw them down at Marvel's feet, "Here you are!" she beamed.

"Well, if we're going to do this, we're going to do this." Marvel stood up and stripped down into his plaid boxers. Clove felt her cheeks heat up, it wasn't that she was attracted to Marvel, it was more that she had never seen a boy strip down before. She glanced at Annie who did not look as flustered as her.

Annie let out a loud whoop in support of Marvel, "Yeah! Strip it down!" She laughed and clapped, everyone was having reactions like that except for Clove. Cato looked sideways at Clove, she was obviously incredibly uncomfortable with what was going on. He thought about how she said she had never drunk before, she was probably more naive than anyone thought.

Everyone hooted and yelled as Finnick turned on the song, Marvel began gyrating like crazy. He did the old grind on me from back in the vine days. Marvel turned his attention to Finnick and gave him the beginning of a lap dance until Finnick shoved him on the floor. The whole time Annie was laughing so hard that she was crying.

Finnick put his hands up, "That's enough, that's enough!"

Marvel started tugging on his clothes, "What dude? I thought that you wanted to see me dance sexy?"

"Not on me!" Finnick explained, "God dude, I hated that."

Marvel grinned at him, "I knew that you would, why do you think that I did it?" he pulled his shirt down and kicked off the shoes that Annie had given him, "Anyways, let's keep this ball rolling. Annie, truth or dare?"

Clove took a big drink of her beer, this was her third one, and she was starting to feel something from it. She had absolutely no tolerance. At least it was helping her loosen up and get through the game.

Annie thought for a moment before deciding, "I'll do a truth!"

Marvel thought hard for a good, juicy question, "How many people have you slept with?"

Annie answered easily, much to Clove's surprise, "Two people, but you're not getting anything more than that from me." She said ruefully.

Clove downed the rest of her beer, wanting the buzz she was feeling in her legs to grow. She wanted to feel the effects when it was her turn. She turned to Cato and put her hand on his arm, "Hey, can I have another drink?"

He could see in her eyes that she was beginning to become sluggish and tipsy, he was four drinks in and was beginning to feel it as well. "Sure, do you want another beer, or do you want something else?"

"I wanna try something else! The beer is making me feel super full." she patted her stomach for emphasis.

He couldn't help but laugh, she was being kind of silly. Not to mention the fact that he was buzzed and it made everything a little bit funnier. "Come on, I'll get you something for you." He stood up and held a hand out to her, pulling her up from the couch. She couldn't help but notice that he didn't let go of her hand, "Me and Clove are going to get a drink." he said to the group as they headed towards the door.

Marvel called out to them, "You sure that you don't want a natty light?" he offered.

Cato laughed, "Nah dude! That shit is disgusting." he opened the door and pulled Clove into the hallway, "This is your first time drinking, you don't need to be drinking natty light. That's the lowest of the low." He keyed open the door to his room.

"Thanks for giving me the good stuff," she smiled up at him, he was being so nice to her. She wasn't used to spending time with boys.

"Of course!" He grinned and yanked his door open, flipping on the light to his room, "If you don't remember, I owe you for all of the interior decorating."

She followed him over to the minifridge in his room, "You paid me in snacks already!" she pointed out, "But I mean, I also did a great job, so I would say I deserve more free things!"

"That's what I'm saying!" He grabbed a can of coke and walked over to his desk, taking a seat at his chair he opened a drawer and pulling out a bottle of brown liquor and a shot glass. "Oh shit," he mumbled under his breath and she walked over to him.

"What's wrong?" she walked over to him.

"Um," he looked up at her feeling extremely stupid, "I don't have any glasses. Just this shot glass, and my water bottle for football."

"I have glasses." she put a hand on my shoulder, "Let's go get them."

They walked over to Clove's room, and it was super obvious that her alcohol tolerance was much lower than his. She was so much more buzzed than him, he could tell from all of her intimate touches and her goofy smile. She was talking louder and her laugh was booming.

"Here we are," she said, pulling the glasses out from a cart she had organized with all of the dishes she had brought. He chuckled when she handed it to him, they were pint glasses, "What's wrong with the glass?"

He shook his head smiling, "There's nothing wrong with the glass, it's just that it's a pint glass. So you're supposed to drink beer out of these."

"So what? You can still drink water out of them. Maybe I should offer one to Marvel so he can drink his very classy natty light out of a glass instead of a can."

Cato threw his head back and laughed, "You don't understand, that boy and his fucking natural light, he's been trying to get me to drink it every night since we moved in! I'm not kidding you, it tastes like piss water, and he is going to offer you one every time we drink. It's the only thing I've ever seen him drink."

Clove laughed with him, "Piss water? I'm going to make sure that I avoid the natty light. I got it. Now, let's go back to your room so you can make me a drink." she grinned at him, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door.

"Easy there, Clover. Take it slow, you're inexperienced so you don't have a tolerance." he let her pull him out of the room, "I don't want you to get too far gone."

"I'm fine, I've only had three drinks, which is not a lot. Plus, I like the way I'm feeling right now."

He quirked his eyebrow up in amusement, "Oh yeah? And what feeling is that?"

"I feel light, I feel at ease, I feel free! I've never been free my whole life. There's no one breathing down my neck. Plus, I feel warm and bubbly. Everyone tells me I'm cold and closed off, I don't want to be cold and closed off."

He felt like he was grinning from ear to ear, he forgot what it was like when he first started drinking. "I don't think that you are cold and closed off, even before you had a couple of drinks." she opened the door to his room and he followed her inside.

"Well, things have been different today," she flopped down onto his butterfly chair, "It's been such a great day." She let out a loud yawn, "it's also been a long day."

He took the glasses they had got from Clove's room and filled the bottom of the glass with a generous amount of Captain Morgan, "It has been a good, long day," he looked at his phone, it was almost 1 in the morning. "You've been up for almost an entire day."

"That's why I've drank about five cokes today, to keep myself awake." Cato filled the glasses with a can of coke and handed one to her, "Thank you." she smiled at him and took a sip. She liked this drink even more than the beer. "This is really good!"

"Well, I'm glad you like it," he took a huge gulp of his drink, he wanted to drink this one fast so he could have another before going back to the others. "Do you care if we wait a few minutes before going back over? I want to make another drink before we go back over, and I don't want to share with those animals."

She nodded, she didn't really want to go back there anyway. She didn't want to go back to playing that stupid stupid game. "Yeah, that's fine. It's nice in here anyways," she threw back her head and closed her eyes, "I wonder who made it so nice?" she smiled softly.

"Hmmm, maybe it was you?" he smiled and took another huge gulp of his drink, he was downing it quickly, he wanted to catch up to her. "Seriously though, thank you so much for helping me put my room together."

She opened her eyes back up, she felt like she was living in a warm glow, "Yeah, of course. I was happy to. It was really fun."

He nodded, finishing the drink already, going to pout himself another, "It was really fun. I guess all the college cliches are true. The people on your floor will be your first friends, and leaving your door open is a great way to meet people."  
Clove laughed, "Yeah, I guess those cliches are true. Leaving the door open was all Annie's doing by the way," she took a small sip of her drink. "I told you, I'm cold and closed off."

Cato starting pouring himself another drink, "And like I said, you've been nothing but nice and friendly since we met." he set the bottle of captain down and came out from his desk. "So, should we head back to Finnick's?"

Clove sighed, "I mean, yeah I guess."

Cato frowned at her, "You don't want to go over there? Why not?"

"I don't want to play truth or dare! I hate that game."

He looked at her confused, "Why not? It's super fun and you get to see your friends squirm. Plus, it such a good way to get to know people on a deeper level."

She felt a heavy blush rising to her cheeks, "Well, I never did anything in high school. I'm super inexperienced, not just in drinking, but in everything." she put her face in her hands embarrassed, "I also don't want to do a dare like Marvel did, I just don't have the confidence like him."

Cato thought she looked adorable when she blushed, he didn't know if it was him or the alcohol, "Ah, I see. Well, we can just hang out here if you want. They just might give us shit later on about it."

She looked at him confused, "Why would they give us shit?"

"If we spend too much time alone they're going to think that we're hooking up and they'll say shit about it," he said matter of fact.

"Oh," she felt herself turn crimson, "Well, okay." she shifted farther down into the comfy chair.

Cato dragged his desk chair over to where she was sitting, "Do you mind if I put on some music?" she shakes her head, "Cool, I'm gonna play you some stuff that I think you are going to like."

"I'm always looking for music recommendations." she continued to sip on her drink, she was definitely past tipsy now and moving into drunk territory. She slumped down farther in her chair, "Who's your favorite artist?"

He answered without a thought, "Pinegrove."

She had never heard of that band, "What kind of music do they play?"

He clicked on the song Skylight by Pinegrove, it was slow and relaxing. "It's indie folk music. I describe it as music I would listen to in the middle of the woods."

She smiled to herself, amused by that answer, "That is an oddly specific answer."

"Yeah, but it is how I feel. I want to go hiking and listen to pinegrove. I think that it would be a transcendent experience," he shrugged.

She took another sip of her drink, emptying her glass. "You know, we could actually do that sometimes. There are lots of great places to go hiking in Wisconsin." She set her glass on the ground and softly closed her eyes.

He looked over at her, she was laying low in the seat, she looked exhausted and drunk, but happy, a faint smile graced his lips, "Yeah, I guess that we could. We can get the crew together and hit the trails." he put a hand on her shoulder, "Do you want to go to sleep, Clover?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm having a good time with you. I don't want to be sleep."

He laughed, "You don't want to be sleep? How is one sleep?"

She opened her eyes and smiled at him, "Yeah, you go to sleep and then what do you become? You become sleep, so you are sleep."

He shook his head, "You're a nut." he poked her in the side, the alcohol making him feel bold, "You should be sleep soon, we have to do welcome week stuff tomorrow morning."

She sighed, "I know, I just don't want to walk to my room and climb up that bed."

"Clover, it's only next door." he shook her arm, trying to encourage her to get out of the chair. "Trust me, you're gonna wanna wake up in your bed tomorrow, and the longer you stay here, the less you're going to want to go."

"Okay," she groaned and pulled herself up from the chair, her legs felt wobbly, she stumbled a bit once she popped up, "Woah, wasn't expecting that."

He laughed and stood up, he was buzzed but not drunk like Clove. He rested his hand on the small of her back, she felt like there was electricity coming from his hand. "That's what happens when you have a few drinks. Come on, let's get you back." He started guiding her to the door, she was so small, he wasn't shocked that she was feeling so much from the drinks.

He carefully ushered her into her room, when she was fumbling with her keys, he unlocked the door for her. She looked up and him and patted his cheek, "Thanks, Cato." The gesture made him blush, he blamed it on the alcohol.

"Mhmm," they walked into her room and she flipped on the shitty over headlights, "Here we are, we made it."

She turned to face him, "Will you wait for me to climb into bed and then turn off the lights for me?" She asked with hopeful eyes.

He felt his heart go soft, "Of course."

"Okay hang on, I have to get ready to be sleep." She walked over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of pajama shorts and a loose t-shirt. She clicked on a soft song on her phone, 11 Blocks by Wrabel. She closed her bathroom door and clumsily did her nighttime routine, tying her hair up in a bun, putting on her lavender lotion, taking out her contacts, brushing her teeth. After 5 minutes she was all ready for bed.

She walked out and Cato noticed how cute she looked all sleepy and delirious. Most girls that he knew in high school wouldn't let him see them without a full face of makeup and a perfectly curated outfit, but not Clove. She was unapologetically herself.

"Ready to be sleep now?" He asked, still amused by how she said she was going to 'be sleep.'

"Yeah, I'm ready to be sleep," she walked past him, patting his arm. She started to climb into her lofted bed, now that she had been drinking it seemed much higher. "Woah," She felt like she was on a boat, she closed her eyes and held onto the bed frame.

"Easy there," Cato chuckled, he remembered how clumsy he got the first time that he drank. He walked over to her and rested his hands on her back, keeping her stable, "Up you go, Clover." She was so light in his hands as he helped her climb.

After a minute of the two of them struggling to get her up in the bed she finally flopped onto her mattress. "We did it!" She said sluggishly.

"Yes, yes we did. Now get some sleep, we have a meeting at 9:30." He reminded her.

"Yeah, and we should go to breakfast before that." She climbed underneath her covers, getting cozy in her new blankets, "It's the best meal of the day," she noted.

He nodded, "For sure, I'll stop by your room at around 8:30?" he proposed.

She smiled and nodded enthusiastically, "Sounds like a plan, my dude. Also, where's Annie?" She looked across to the empty bed across from her.

"She's still at Finnick's, she'll be home later." He looked at his phone, it was 1:30 in the morning, "Or maybe not, either way, she's not far away. And I'm not far away either," he looked up at the beautiful sleeping girl in the bed and traced her cheek with his finger, "Let me see your phone."

She lazily grabbed and hung it off the edge of the bed, "There's no passcode."

He clicked into his contacts and added his phone number and name, he also added himself as a friend on her snapchat. "Now you have my phone number and my snapchat, so call or text me if you need anything." She nodded, and he caressed her cheek again, the alcohol making him feel bold, "Be good sleep, Clover."  
"You too, Cato," she mused. He walked back towards the door when he heard her voice call out again, "Wait! Can you please grab my water bottle? It's on the desk."

He grabbed the hydro flask off of her desk and set it in her bed next to her, "Here you go, Clover."

"Thank you, but my name is not Clover." she reminded him.

"I know," he smiled and patted her arm and quietly walked to the door, turned the light off, and closed her door gently.


End file.
